Filmic Pro Allows You To Shoot Like Never Before

I remember that it was just a couple of years ago when the image quality of my phone began to surpass my actual camera’s. In these days of iPhone and Android ubiquity, unless you’re talking to a professional photographer or video editor, chances are, most people use their smartphones as their “go-to camera”. While our phones have provided us with unprecedented quality with the convenience of fitting in our pockets, they still manage to fall behind in some areas. To address this, Filmic has just released its beta version of its Pro mobile application that provides aspiring iPhone Kubricks with a whole toolbox of professional video editing features. Most notably, teh application allows you to capture 4K in a “log” or flat profile. Keep in mind, this is a feature that’s typically found on high end cinema cameras, and not your everyday run-of-the-mill smartphone. “Flat profile” essentially means that the output is seen as a low-contrast and low saturation. While some may think of this visual quality as looking a bit drab and boring, it’s actually quite necessary during editing.

Recently, film maker Matteo Bertoli was able to get his hands on the app and explained why, initially, you’d want a a low-contrast video output. The reasoning behind this is that it allows you to adjust the video’s exposure, hues, and brightness, without losing any of the small details in the shadows and highlights. “Of course the footage will look weird at the beginning, but this is totally normal,” wrote Bertoli in PetaPixel. “Once we start grading the clips in post production we’ll be able to apply a look-up table (LUT) … [and] capture those details in the shadows and in the highlights that would otherwise be lost.”

The application also features variable speed zoom, audio gain control, and variable frame rates up to 240 frames per second on some the newest devices. It provides full manual control over focus, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, tint, and color temperature. It’s arsenal of professional tools include audio meters, stereo microphone support, informative thirds guide, and aspect ratio overlays.

While you shouldn’t necessarily consider throwing out your professional camera in favor of your smart-phone, Filmic is releasing some very interesting features for what may be the most popular camera on the market. This will provide a highly powerful color-grading system for both independent film makers, as well as part -time hobbyists.